Today we can think about whether or not flight attendants should be tipped. If so, why? Read a piece that provides tips on how to carry more souvenirs home and learn about the safety questions recently raised about using personal electronic devices aboard aircraft.Why shouldn’t we tip flight attendants?

I know that flight attendants look at themselves primarily as safety personnel, there to make sure that passengers are strapped in, terrorists lighting their shoes are stopped and that passengers can exit the plane in the event of emergency. But, let’s face it, on some planes they spend more time serving us sodas, snacks and meals. Those in first class fluff pillows and cater to many more whims. Flight attendants make our flights more enjoyable (and sometimes less so) just as a good waiter makes a meal a more pleasurable. So, why is it considered declassé to give flight attendants tips?

There isn’t much of an economic foundation for tipping the person who gives the safety demonstration and distributes Terra Blues chips. Flight attendants aren’t dependent upon tip income in order to achieve a livable wage. (Still, their salary levels are by no means good rationale for withholding gratuities. Gadling says they make $35,000 to $40,000 annually, on average.) Further, most airlines discourage flight attendants from accepting tips.

“Flight attendants are not in the group of people that we tip,” Lizzie Post, Emily Post’s great-great-granddaughter and author on modern etiquette advice, told ABC News. “Even when you’re in the process of a transaction, buying beer or wine or alcohol, snacks or headsets, there is no reason to tip. It’s not appropriate to the situation.”

What do you think? Should flight attendants accept tips?

Bringing souvenirs home

Wendy Perin, traveler extraordinaire, provides some tips to get souvenirs home. She, evidently, is a heavy shopper, but her advice might help travelers planning a shopping spree. Among a few other tips she adds:

…when packing wine bottles — or other breakables — I never bother with bubble wrap; I simply wrap T-shirts around each bottle, make sure the bottles aren’t touching each other or the sides of the bag, use soft sweaters and other clothing to cushion them from every angle, and make sure they’re positioned so snugly and firmly within the wheelie that they won’t move in transit. Works every time.

What if the FAA’s WiFi concerns were real?

It’s hard to believe, but the FAA really has found possible interference between some of the airplane instrumentation and personal electronic devices. Rather than deny passengers the ability to use their PEDs, the FAA seems to be swapping out instruments that can be affected by passengers’ devices. That’s interesting — it seems that the FAA is putting passenger convenience first if they recommend allowing the use of PEDs! Their report is ready to be released and go through the rulemaking procedure.

Both Honeywell and Boeing previously acknowledged the potential interference problem, which hasn’t shown up during any flights. Last fall, the companies voluntarily switched to modified displays with enhanced shielding and upgraded software for new aircraft, and also urged carriers to voluntarily fix or swap out suspect parts on existing fleets. Foreign regulators are likely to follow the FAA and issue similar directives affecting hundreds of additional jetliners.

But only a portion of the targeted planes have been fixed so far, according to industry officials. Now, the FAA for the first time is explicitly citing the extent of the hazards and proposing to order U.S. airlines to replace or modify the older Honeywell units. The directive will become final after public comment.

Charles Leocha is a nationally recognized expert on affordable travel and the publisher of Consumer Traveler. He is the author of Travel Rights and a series of guidebooks covering the USA and Europe. In 2009 he founded the Consumer Travel Alliance together with Christopher Elliott. It was renamed Travelers United in 2014. During his time with Travelers United, he has testified regularly before Congress and serves on consumer advisory committees with DOT and TSA.

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